I disagree, Arya was brought up differently than Sandor, she has no scars no nothing. I think Arya basically amuses Sandor and the reason he kept her alive is because she was a Stark.

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Arya has no scars??? Not physically, admittedly, but look at what she's gone through since AGOT. Watching her father being killed, being surrounded by Amory Lorch's crowd and nearly burnt to death, nearly starving, being caught by Gregor's gang, watching the Tickler torturing people to death, Harrenhal, the Red Wedding, etc. And all that's just made her tougher. What Sandor suffered definitely made him more of a survivor, something he shares with Arya.

And why would he keep Arya alive just because she's a Stark? It looked like there was no one left to ransom Arya by the end of ASOS. By that point Arya being a Stark wouldn't have been a reason to keep her alive and yet he did.

I think we see in the scene with Arya and Sandor fighting in the inn the survival instincts of both and their similarities to each other. They are definitely kindred spirits.

Arya has no scars??? Not physically, admittedly, but look at what she's gone through since AGOT. Watching her father being killed, being surrounded by Amory Lorch's crowd and nearly burnt to death, nearly starving, being caught by Gregor's gang, watching the Tickler torturing people to death, Harrenhal, the Red Wedding, etc. And all that's just made her tougher. What Sandor suffered definitely made him more of a survivor, something he shares with Arya.

And why would he keep Arya alive just because she's a Stark? It looked like there was no one left to ransom Arya by the end of ASOS. By that point Arya being a Stark wouldn't have been a reason to keep her alive and yet he did.

I think we see in the scene with Arya and Sandor fighting in the inn the survival instincts of both and their similarities to each other. They are definitely kindred spirits.

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Because he could ransom her, and then why did Arya leave him? It seems she does not share the "love" he has for her.

As I pointed out, by the end of ASOS Sandor had realised that there was no one left to ransom Arya. He still didn't kill her. Also, I never claimed Sandor, "loved," Arya, rather I said that he and she shared some similarities - slightly different.

I think they both shared a respect for each other by the end, even though Arya left him. She could just as easily have killed him and by that point she had no reservations about killing anyone. I do believe that Sandors got some feelings for Sansa and likenesses aside, thats got to play a part in his behavior with Arya.

Excellent point Turin. His feelings for Arya aside he would've done what he could for her just out of his feelings for Sansa. Would he have done as much if he didn't have some feelings for Arya in and of herself? Probably not.
His feelings for Sansa aside I think he still was impressed by the hardness he found in Arya and saw her as a kindred spirit. Abused, kicked around and treated no better than an animal. The Hound did not suffer fools lightly and has no patience for those who won't do what needs to be done at the moment it needs to be done.
I think in both the Stark girls he was able to look beneath the surface of them being scared little girls and saw the fierce little wolves they could be.

i think he saw the wolf in arya, but i doubt he saw that in sansa... after all, she is scared like hell.
i think that he's not so tough and cruel after all. perhaps he has some sort of father-instinct towards them?

I think it's Sansa's innocence that attracts him to her more than anything else. That scene where she sings to him and feels the tears on his face...that's one of the most beautiful scenes in the books imo. As for Arya, I do think, like I've said before, that he sees himself in her. I don't think it's a paternal instinct, because I don't think it's really protective, if you know what I mean. It's more like a relationship between kindred spirits.

This is quite an old thread, but since Sandor is my favourite character in the series, I want to say my word too, of course
I like what all of the above write about him. Very well thought.
(Possible AFFC spoiler below)
Now that we all seem to agree he is still alive in AFFC, I wonder what GRRM has in mind for him in the next books.
He does no longer wear his armour - the Hound is gone, Sandor is all that is left, apparently. I think the anger in his eyes (the thing Sansa was most scared of) has disappeared, and I wonder what's left of the man we know.
I also can't stop thinking of what would happen if he and Sansa will come eye to eye once more. For some reason I doubt she's going to marry that Harrold-boy, and I expect her to leave the Vale.
Sometimes I dream of Sansa going back to Winterfell and Sandor being her guard... Ridiculous, I know...

Did any of you notice that first in AGOT he was mostly mentioned as The Hound, later in ACOK he was mostly mentioned as Sandor Clegane or simply Clegane, and at the end of ASOS he was called Sandor.
By doing so, GRRM used a very subtle way to change a quite flat character into a real person.

Sandor not too good of a swordsman? He was weak because he had not had a proper meal in days, and he had been drinking too much wine on an empty stomach. Being able to kill Poliver anyway, makes him a good swordsman in my opinion.
Even Jaime thinks he cannot beat the Hound.